Difference between revisions of "Terminology"

;sale:An agreement to transfer the ownership of property from one person to another in exchange for the reciprocal transfer of something else, usually money. See "agreement."

;separation:In family law, the decision of one or both parties to terminate a married or unmarried relationship; the act of one person leaving the family home to live somewhere else with the intention of terminating the relationship. There is no such thing as a "legal separation." In general, one separates by simply moving out, however it is possible to be separated but still live under the same roof. See "divorce, grounds of."

;separation agreement:A contract intended to resolve all or some of the issues outstanding following the breakdown of a relationship and intended to guide the parties in their dealings with one another thereafter. A typical separation agreement is signed following a settlement reached through negotiations and deals with issues including guardianship, parenting arrangements, contact, support, the division of property and the division of debt. See "family law agreements."

;service, affidavit of:A legal document required by the rules of court in which a person who has personally served someone describes the circumstances in which the person was served. This may be essential to prove personal service, particularly if the serving party intends to seek a default judgment, as is usually the case in a desk order divorce. See "default judgment" and "personal service."

;service, substituted:Personal service performed in a way other than required by the rules of court, as may be authorized by the court. If a respondent cannot be served for any reason, such as if he or she is hiding or refusing service, the court may permit a claimant to serve the other party "substitutionally" by means including an ad in the legal notices section of a newspaper's classified ads or posting the document in the court registry. See "personal service."

;''sine die'':A Latin phrase meaning "without a day." An application adjourned ''sine die'' has been adjourned without a specific date being set for the hearing, often in the expectation that it will never need to be set for hearing. See "adjournment" and "application."

;spousal support:Money paid by one spouse to another spouse either as a contribution toward the spouse's living expenses or to compensate the spouse for the economic consequences of decisions made by the spouses during their relationship.

;Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines:An academic paper released by the Department of Justice that describes a variety of mathematic formulas that can be applied to determine how much spousal support should be paid and how long spousal support should be paid for, once a spouse is found to be entitled to receive support. The Advisory Guidelines is not a law.

;''stare decisis'':A Latin phrase meaning "stand by the thing decided." Refers to the common law principle that courts are obliged to follow the decisions of the courts before them, known as "precedent." See "common law" and "precedent."

;''status quo'':A Latin phrase meaning "the state that was." Refers to whatever circumstances or conditions previously existed, or which presently exist and have existed in the same way for some time.

;stepparent:The spouse of a person who has children from a previous relationship. A stepparent may qualify as a "parent" for the purposes of issues relating to child support and the care and control of a child under both the ''Divorce Act'' and the ''Family Law Act''. See "parent" and "spouse."

;substituted service:Personal service performed in a way other than required by the rules of court, as may be authorized by the court. If a respondent cannot be served for any reason, such as if he or she is hiding or refusing service, the court may permit a claimant to serve the other party "substitutionally" by means including an ad in the legal notices section of a newspaper's classified ads or posting the document in the court registry. See "personal service."

;Supreme Court:Normally referred to as the "Supreme Court of British Columbia," this court hears most court proceedings in this province. The Supreme Court is a court of inherent jurisdiction and is subject to no limits on the sorts of claims it can hear or on the sorts of orders it can make. Decisions of the Provincial Court are appealed to the Supreme Court; decisions of the Supreme Court are appealed to the Court of Appeal. See "Court of Appeal," "jurisdiction," "Provincial Court" and "Supreme Court of Canada."

;Supreme Court of Canada:The highest level of court in Canada. This court hears appeals from the decisions of the Federal Court of Appeal and the provincial courts of appeal, including the Court of Appeal for British Columbia. There is no court to appeal to beyond this court. See "Court of Appeal" and "Supreme Court."